A case of torture on a student has been reported from Korangi where a schoolteacher hit a child brutally with a stick for reading a book of other subject and caused a fracture in his elbow and wrist.
The Korangi police said they received a complaint from Rizwan Zahoor, a resident of Korangi, who narrated that he worked at a private firm and had three children who were studying at a private school in Korangi No 3.
On January 27, 2023, when the children had gone to school, he received a call at around 11:45am from the principal of the school who narrated that his elder son Abdul Rafay had suffered a serious injury in his hand.
Responding to the call, the father rushed to the school where he found Rafay crying due to pain. He narrated that he was attending a class of English by a teacher, Hafsa, and as her period was about to end, he took out his science book for reading as he had a test in his next class. In the meantime, the teacher came and snatched the science book from him and picked a stick from the table and started beating him brutally due to which his elbow and wrist were injured.
As his classmates asked the teacher to stop after seeing him crying, the teacher replied that the student was just hurt and he had not died. Zahoor narrated that afterwards he took his son to the principal’s room and lodged a complaint against the teacher, upon which the principal used harsh language with him and threatened him.
He added that upon the reaction of the school administration, he left the school along with his children and went to the Korangi police station where he obtained the medical letter and went to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. After the medical examination of his son at the hospital, the father returned to the Korangi police station and registered an FIR against the teacher.
The Korangi police said they had registered an FIR against the schoolteacher on the complaint of Zahoor under the Pakistan Penal Code and raids were under way for her arrest. Meanwhile, the Directorate of Inspection and Registration of Private Institutions suspended the registration certificate of the school and also fined them.
A letter issued by the directorate read that the inquiry committee comprising officers of the directorate visited the school on Wednesday in order to ascertain facts regarding a complaint by Zahoor and found that corporal punishment by a teacher had resulted in a fracture in the elbow of the student, which was a serious violation of the condition 4(h) of Form B (registration certificate) as well as the Sindh Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Act 2016.
The directorate stated that following the visit, it suspended the registration of the school with immediate effect till further orders. A disciplinary fine amounting to Rs25,000 was also imposed on the school. The school would also bear all expenditure to be incurred on the treatment of Rafay.
Meanwhile, Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah in his statement said that there was a law against violence against schoolchildren in Sindh. Repression or violence against children in school could not be tolerated under any circumstances, he said and added that it was also the responsibility of the school administration to keep their teachers informed in this regard.